20100420

You may not know this but the term 420 is a reference to smoking marijuana - aka weed, grass, Mary Jane, reefer, pot, cannabis, toke, doobie, ganja, joints, hemp, sativa et al. 420 (pronounced like the time 4:20 and not four hundred twenty) has been kind of a widespread "secret code" for decades amongst stoners for getting high on grass.

There are a lot of myths and versions of where the term 420 actually originated, most of them are wrong. Nope, sorry, it is not the police code for a marijuana bust or for someone "under the influence", it is not the day April 20th, it's not the number of active chemicals in marijuana (that is around 300+/- depending on the genus of the actual plant), nor is it derived from National Pot Smoker's Day which was established as April 20th as a result of the term420.

According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times, the term 420 actually came about from a bunch of kids at San Rafael High in California who called themselves the Waldos. In 1971 the Waldos, a group consisting of Steve, Dave and Patrick (last names not revealed), coined the phrase when they made plans to meet up every day at the statue of Louis Pasteur on the campus and get high at 4:20 pm after school. It then evolved into a "Waldos" code for getting stoned, soon spreading through the school and then practically worldwide over the decades.

To quote one of the Waldos, "We did discover we could talk about getting high in front of our parents without them knowing by using the phrase 420."

Today, nearly 40 years later, 420 has evolved into a hidden symbol and code for cannabis and the counterculture that celebrated it's use. It's kind of like a modern day's counter culture Da Vinci Code - maybe in the year 4545 - if man is still alive - a futuristic android archaeologist will dig up an old stoner's t-shirt or some smoking paraphernalia and wonder just what that "420" means? Hopefully, they'll also find an archive of this blog post. . . .

I was having a conversation about men and relationships with my friend Debby the other day and in the course of our discussion I told her , "I'd much rather have some good chocolate than bad sex any day!"

Think about it - chocolate releases all sorts of interesting things into your body that stimulate the pleasure centers in your brain and just plain make you feel good:

Chocolate contains phenylethylamine which is a chemical that is released naturally in the body when you're in love.

Chocolate contains dopamine and serotonin, both of which alleviate pain and raise pleasure levels.

Chocolate contains theobromine (also known as xantheose), a chemical stimulant which is a mood elevator. Theobromine is the reason chocolate is toxic to dogs and horses, by the way.

Theobromine actually translates to "food of the gods." in Greek: theo ("God") and brosi ("food")

Chocolate does contain caffeine but only about half as much as compared to theobromine and caffeine is another stimulant.

The melting point of chocolate is slightly below human body temperature so it melts in your mouth for an extremely sensual experience. It's sweet, makes you feel good and it never dates your cousin or your best friend! It's available in almost every retail outlet, you can cook with it, make cocktails with it and give it as a gift!

Throughout the history of chocolate people considered it to be an aphrodisiac:

The Aztecs considered all chocolate an aphrodisiac and all foods made with chocolate were forbidden to women! (Dear God, no wonder their civilization crumbled and disappeared - how stupid do you have to be to deny women chocolate?!?)

The infamous lover of history, Cassanova, called chocolate his "elixir of love".

Madame du Barry, famous French courtesan and mistress of King Louis XV, served a "cup of chocolat" to her paramours before adjourning to the boudoir.

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